Preferments
I bake exclusively with whole grains that I mill myself and I have used Peter Reinhart's method of using 2 preferments when preparing my dough. (A soaker which is flour, water and a bit of salt. And a biga which is flour, water and a bit of yeast or a sour dough starter)
I am branching out now trying formulas from other bakers and one thing I have run across is that of using sponges, poolishes and pate ferments in their breads. All are used to enhance the flavor and strengthen the dough since the formulas I am looking at use primarily bread flour or all purpose flour as their main flour. (Minimal whole grains used....)
I am thinking that using the suggested preferments is exactly what I am already doing using Peter Reinhart's method but I am not sure since the ingredients do vary a bit as do the hydration levels. (Peter uses the 2 preferments in what he calls the 'epoxy method' to strengthen the dough, enhance flavor by allowing the enzymes extra time to work before fermentation takes place and to soften the bran to create a softer crumb.)
Because I use only whole grains I generally modify other formulas to fit into his style but I am wondering if the difference in the preferments effects the flavor and therefore I should not modify the formulas but I just don't know....soaking is soaking isn't it?
Anybody have any experience with comparing preferments and the final outcome of breads using whole grains exclusively?
Thanks for any insights....
Janet